Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with climatechange

The polluter pays

Tawita — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:23:02 -0800

I (think I) read somewhere on the web the factoid that, if we could restrict the impacts of climate change to within the borders of the country responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions, the temperature of the USA would rise by (something like) 22° Celsius. Now I can't for the life of me find it again. Does anyone know where I read this, or am I simply imagining things? I'd like to be able to cite an authority for my assertion. Climate change skeptics need not apply.

Where do all these anti-AGW comments come from?

eagle-bear — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:25:16 -0800

Whenever there's a prominent article about climate change published online, without fail, a multititude of global warming sceptics then swarm discussion board and fill it with angry comments. Where does this come from? I find this phenomenon pretty inexplicable. I have thought about the following possibilities: (a) maybe people are paid to post to these discussions; (b) perhaps I have seriously underestimated the number of AGW sceptics that are actually out there; and (c) perhaps this issue just motivates the hell out of certain people to devote a lot of time to this. Anyone have any answers or ideas?

Help me calculate my carbon ass-print.

dr. boludo — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:46:46 -0800

How much does my flatulence contribute to climate change? I'm a pretty typical granola liberal -- I commute by bicycle almost all the time, and I eat a lot of legumes. Consequently, I fart a lot. I recently joked that probably the biggest part of my carbon footprint is actually my butt. This, of course, got me thinking: Could it really be? I understand that methane is orders of magnitude more significant than CO2 in contributing to global warming.

Given this data: male, early 30s, 175 lbs, I'd estimate an average of 30 very healthy sized farts per day (I have neither the equipment nor the inclination to obtain a more precise volumetric measurement, sorry)...

What is the estimated environmental impact of my ass as compared to other typical activities? How many commuting miles (city driving, 1998 Toyota Corolla) would I need to replace with bicycling or walking miles to make my digestive tract carbon neutral?

Come on AskMe, I know you like overthinking plates of beans!

What are some global warming tipping points?

jefficator — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:32:46 -0800

What are some smaller-scale global warming tipping points that would radically alter everyday life? Last night on NPR's marketplace, a special report from Helena, Montana, described the devastation wrought by the pine beetle in the Ponderosa forests of the West. According to the report, a two-degree increase in average temperatures has prevented the hard freezes that kill the pine beetle. As a result, those pests are now rampant and destroying whole forests.

(The report did acknowledge the dissenting opinion that fire suppression and poor forest management are the culprits, but my question still stands.)

We here a lot about generic ice-cap melting, etc. But I'm imagining, for instance, that perhaps the temperature increase might prevent freezes that control mosquito populations in the South? Etc?

Can anyone identify other small catastrophes waiting to happen as temperatures inch up? Especially ones specific to your region that others might not know about?

Hardcopy of IPCCs "2007 Synthesis Report?"

ZenMasterThis — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:16:50 -0800

Can I buy a hardcopy of the IPCC's "Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report?" I see hardcopies of the detail reports and the 2001 synthesis reports for sale. I see free PDFs but not hardcopies of the 2007 synthesis report. Am I missing something?

Offsetting sea level rise: An engineering idea of Biblical proportions

0bvious — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:52:25 -0800

The seas are rising. Climate change has made it inevitable. I have a strange question... Assuming that world sea-level rises by 1 metre over the next hundred years - Would it be possible to cordon off a section of land, somewhere in the centre of a continent, and flood it to create an artificial ocean, thus reducing the consequences of the sea rise? This Biblical scale engineering feat must take these issues into account:

1. The section of land would have to be a very large 'bowl', in the centre of a continent, that is already below sea level. Another section of land, leading from the ocean to this central 'bowl' section, would have to be carved out to create the biggest dam system mankind has ever witnessed. Does somewhere like this exist?

2. The number of humans currently living in this 'bowl' would have to be less than the number of humans who would be displaced by the 1 metre sea level rise. Otherwise this huge engineering feat would not be worth undertaking.

3. Other environmental issues should be taken into account, such as the ecosystems that would be displaced or the new weather patterns and ocean currents that would be created.

Do you have the calculations of water/land displaced? Or ideas about where this kind of thing could be built? I'd love any input on this monstrous thought experiment.

Thanks!

How has droughts in Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne) impacted perceptions of climate change?

GIMG — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:00:43 -0800

How have landscapes transformed by drought in Australia (esp. Brisbane or Melbourne) impacted people's perceptions of climate change? I'm traveling through Brisbane and Melbourne at the moment, researching how the consequences of drought have transformed the landscape (e.g. rainwater tanks, water conservation signs, desiccating lawns and parks, disappearing ponds, lowering dams, shifts toward native Australian plants for gardening, waterless fountains, brown sporting fields, etc.), and the subsequent cognitive processing of climate change. Even with the recent flooding, is this a connection Australians make? Have landscapes been transformed in other ways? And who might provide relevant insights into this question?

Social Media + Environmental Concerns?

GIMG — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:43:04 -0800

What are some social media sites that have an environmental tilt? I'm looking at both general social media sites that have sections with an environmental tilt (e.g. Facebook groups against climate change), but also social media sites specifically tailored toward environmental purposes (e.g. stepgreen.org).

What innovations of the Obama campaign could be applied to activist campaigns?

GIMG — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:49:30 -0800

Could activists for social causes (e.g. global warming) learn something from the Obama campaign in how to effectively engage and mobilize people?

I need to cite my Gulf Stream sources!

teraspawn — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:25:05 -0800

I'm arguing with a conservative friend about global warming. Specifically, the idea that changes in the Gulf Stream have lead to Britain getting colder as a result of climate change. I don't know how valid this theory still is, but my question is: where can I find some scientific journal articles on the subject?

Were China's Olympic greening efforts short-term?

GIMG — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:17:13 -0800

Will China's efforts to go green for the Olympics be instituted for the longer-term or for a broader geographic range?

How does the Chinese media deal with climate change (esp. during the Olympics)?

GIMG — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:51:20 -0800

How does the Chinese media handle climate change, and what (if any) difference did the Beijing Olympics have in this? I only really followed the Chinese media in the time window surrounding the Beijing Olympics - I'm trying to get a sense for how climate change is discussed in the Chinese media (what is to be emphasized, what is to be ignored or downplayed), and how the Olympics impacted these discussions.

I've noticed a lot of contrasting opinions - a stream of climate change skeptic editorials, we must act now to stop climate change, features on industries who are trying to cut emissions - a contrast that I think goes against Western perception of a homogeneous Chinese media. What are the main pressures on discussion of climate change in the press?

What's the evangelical New York Times?

lilac girl — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:12:44 -0800

What are some popular evangelical periodicals in the U.S. about current events? Bonus points if they have an online archive; super-extra bonus points if the archive goes back before 2006. I'm looking for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, journals, etc. that report news aimed at an evangelical Christian audience for a paper about whether their press coverage of global warming has changed in the past few years. I don't need magazines about theology, missionary work,etc. I've looked at the Evangelical Press Association but I'm a bit overwhelmed by their lists. I'm having trouble identifying popular periodicals, and many of the ones I do seem to find don't have archives of their articles before 2006. Regional periodicals are fine (but I'd prefer U.S. publications) and I don't care how often new issues come out.

How can I travel between continents without emitting much CO2?

sindark — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:55:48 -0800

I want to travel, but I think doing so by airplane is unethical because of the associated carbon emissions and the inadequacy of 'offset' schemes. Is it still possible to travel by sea from North America to Europe or Asia? If so, how long does it take, and what are the associated costs?

Where to find a chart breaking out components of possible CO2 reduction?

teracloth — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:41:54 -0800

How big a part of the global warming solution might come from land-use changes, how much from no-till farming and so forth? I know I've seen charts like this several times in the past, but now I somehow can't turn one up.

So we're trying to cut greenhouse emissions 30 percent by 2030 or whatever. How much of that cut can we reasonably expect to come from transporting less stuff, how much from greener building, etc.?

Ideally I'd like to find a graphical illustration, but words would do. I'm hoping to convince someone of the diversity and difficulty of tactics that it'll take to save the world.

Which scientific journals to search for global warming naysayers?

damnthesehumanhands — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:59:52 -0800

I'm researching scientists who dispute / are skeptics of man-made climate change (a la the UN IPCC's findings.) Which peer reviewed, scholarly science journals should I be searching through?

Best Global Warming Real Estate?

53B3L1U5 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:07:20 -0800

In the inevitability of global warming (bias disclosed) where should I move to? I'm a 20-something getting close to that home-owner stage, but from some of the stuff I'm reading a lot of great places to live won't be great much longer! With the drying of the west, the sunbelt is looking less enticing. I live near the ocean now, but it seems the dream of staying nearby is fading. [Blast from the past] I figure to be alive into the last half of this century. With the world getting warmer where are the cool places gonna be in 50 years?

If you believe in climate change, is it wrong to drive or fly?

MetaMonkey — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:47:10 -0800

If you believe climate change is real, bad, and man-made: does that mean it's wrong to take a flight or drive a car? Are there any reasonable excuses?

Please sir, can I have some more?

greytape — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:45:27 -0800

How many tons of CO2 should I be allowed to emit each year? So Al Gore has gone carbon neutral, but the idea that we're going to reach a carbon neutral civilisation in the next hundred years seems pretty laughable. So what I want to know is how much carbon each one of us can get away with emitting so that we manage to limbo under the level that pushes us over 350ppm, or whatever is considered the target these days; bearing in mind that

1. Poor people have a right to fuck the planet up too.
2. The world population hasn't stablised yet.

(As global emissions are going to have to decline gradually, the figure I'm looking for is really what I'll be allowed to emit in 2050 or some arbitrary date in the future.)

Thanks.

Climate Change Step-By-Step

textilephile — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:42:42 -0800

Does anyone know of a good online resource that explains in detail the exact series of events that is predicted to occur as a result of climate change if it continues on its current path? I am looking for step by step descriptions of what is likely to happen geologically, biologically, and socially, described in lay terms, from well regarded sources. It should be in depth, but not highly technical. Video, text, and graphics are all fine.

I am not looking for appeals to save the earth, or descriptions of what people shoud do to save the earth. I am looking for descriptions of what is likely to happen if we do not.

I realize that all predictions will include a significant amount of speculation, and that they will vary from one another.

Point me to a map of the effects of global warming

greggish — Mon, 21 May 2007 10:57:41 -0800

I'm looking for a dynamic map (of the USA, or of the world) that will graphically display various trends relating to climate change and the effects of global warming in the next century. So, if I want to see the projections of sea level rise over the next century, I can call that data up on the map; same for agricultural production patterns, extreme weather forecast, etc. Perhaps this map could be manipulated to show separate displays for the best, most likely, and worst case scenarios.

Does such a map exist on the interweb, or is it just an awesome idea that someone should totally get to work on asap?

GlobalWarmingSpeculationFilter

Alterscape — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:55:16 -0800

Where can I learn about the possible consequences of future global warming, sea-level-rise, etc on the climate of the continental US? Research for that sci-fi story I'm playing with. What would likely happen to the climate of the US if one of the worse-case scenarios in terms of climate change were to occur? I'm particularly interested in the southwestern US, and Appalachia, for now, but if anyone out there has generated maps or other reports dealing with the whole country (world?) that would be nice to know about too. I know climate prediction is an inexact science at best, but I'm looking for articles (layperson or scholarly) and other resources that I can use to inform my thinking and make interesting hypothetical predictions that are at least somewhat within the realm of possibility.

Which climate change organization should I donate to?

walla — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:49:43 -0800

We would like to contribute to an organization that is dedicated to alleviating global warming. Ideally a nonprofit but any organization that takes action in this direction would be fine. I'd prefer that it be something I could research online or find a rating such as those available on charitynavigator.com. Any ideas? Thank you!

What's the Climate Change vibe?

wilful — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:20:46 -0800

Has there been any discernible change recently regarding public opinion of anthropogenic climate change in your neck of the woods? Here in Australia there has been a quite sudden and obvious flip in the public mood about this issue. It has gone from something that the 'elites' cared about to something that has broad public acceptance - including acceptance that there will be costs of action. This has been driven primarily by the extensive, severe drought we're currently suffering, as well as the publication of an excellent book by Tim Flannery (The Weather Makers), and the recent Al Gore tour.

I'm curious, has there been any similar shift in gear in your part of the world?

Books skeptical about global warming's effect

dbarefoot — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:28:27 -0800

What are some reasonable, readable books which are skeptical about the dire threat of global warning? I recently saw An Inconvenient Truth, and felt that Mr. Gore made a pretty solid case. That said, I'd like to read the opposite opinion in a book that a layman can understand. I'm aware of Crichton's State of Fear, but I gather that's been largely debunked. Any suggestions?